In a surprise to many pollsters and pundits, and much of the general public, businessman Donald J. Trump on November 8 won the 2016 presidential election and is now moving forward with this transition team as president-elect to set up a new government. AFOP wishes him and the new administration well in their efforts to work for the public good in behalf of all in this great nation of ours.

Many in the anti-poverty community are understandably worried about what a Trump Administration will mean for their work in supporting the very poorest among us, given some of the president-elect’s more strident rhetoric on the campaign trail. With the White House, United States Senate, and United States House of Representatives now under Republican control for the first time in more than a decade, these service-providers are concerned that Congress, with the White House’s blessing, will make drastic cuts in domestic spending to pay for large increases in defense. While that remains to be seen, these anti-poverty groups have vowed to defend the programs and the funding they feel are the very fabric of the nation’s safety net.

In regard to the highly successful and critically needed National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP), there is really no telling at this point what the change in administrations will mean going forward. While it is true that NFJP, year in and year out, exceeds the United States Department of Labor’s national program performance goals, providing life-changing training and related assistance to some of the hardest to reach and hardest to serve in America, and while it is also true that the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act lengthened the NFJP grant term to four years, one must understand that these new, longer grant awards are subject to the future availability of appropriated funds. NFJP’s fiscal year 2016 appropriations are in place through June 30, 2017, but Congress has not yet finalized fiscal year 2017 spending, and now may not until after President-elect Trump’s inauguration. Should the president-elect seek to eliminate NFJP funding, we at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP), the non-profit organizations and state entities that deliver NFJP services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers, must make a concerted effort to educate policymakers about the importance of the program, its tremendous reach throughout the country, and why it is necessary to sustain the nation’s commitment to assisting farmworkers and their families earn more stable and secure employment, both inside and outside of agriculture. NFJP service-providers have mounted such an effort before, and are ready to do so again.

A request by the new administration to zero out NFJP is far from a given, however. The president-elect has expressed support for the idea of job training for individuals to meet the unmet demand of employers for qualified workers. Also, the president-elect, who prides himself on having created thousands of jobs as a businessman, has sworn to be “the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” During a September campaign speech, he said he has a plan to add 25 million jobs to the market over the next 10 years. While he included few specifics at the time, he did say he would replace “bureaucrats who ‘only know how to kill jobs’ with ‘jobs-creation experts.’” In addition, the idea of generating and filling more jobs shares bipartisan support. According to the Gallup’s Election Benchmark Survey, 88 percent of Democrat-leaning voters and 80 percent of Republican-leaning voters call the issue of above average importance, a fact that both sides of the aisle seem to appreciate.

Lastly, we can be heartened by the fact that the president-elect sounded a unifying tone in his victory speech in the early morning hours of November 9. It is my very real hope that, with the election now behind us, the president-elect is sincere in his remarks.

“Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division, we have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say, it is time for us to come together as one united people,” Trump said. “I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me.”

“For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I’m reaching out to you,” Trump said. “For your guidance and your help, so that we can work together and unify our great country.”

In closing, please take time to review an easy-to-read primer on how the federal budget process works, linked here, as produced by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. It provides all the necessary information needed to understand and follow the federal budget process during what is certain to be a changed and challenging year.

John David Arnold PhD, the CEO and Founder of Portable Practical Educational Preparation, Inc., has been selected as a 2016 recipient of the Reconocimiento Ohtli Award, one of the highest awards given by the Government of Mexico.

The Ohtli Award was conceived to recognize and honor Mexican, Mexican-American or Latino leaders whose efforts have contributed significantly to the wellbeing, prosperity and empowerment of Mexican communities abroad. Ohtli is a Nahuatl word that means “pathway,” or camino in Spanish. The Institute for Mexicans Abroad, part of the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, annually grants the Ohtli Award, which consists of a medal, a silver rosette, and a diploma. This acknowledgment honors people who have dedicated most of their lives and career to “blazing a trail” abroad for younger generations of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans as they strive to achieve their dreams.

“Estimados; With great humility and gratitude to the Government of Mexico for nominating me for the prestigious award known as Reconocimiento Ohtli. It recognizes the exceptional life achievements of individuals dedicated to service to the community. Especially to those nationals living and working here. It is a very special moment for me. As a child I lived, and was schooled in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico . I know first hand how it is to live in a foreign country. A new language, culture, and customs. However, I am very indebted to that experience. Had it not happened my life’s pathway would have been very different. Most of all, I would not have this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you that helped me along the way. Making possible all that we have accomplished together. The best way to sum it up is the words of Cesar Chavez; Si Se Puede. Because of him and all of you, together say Si Se Pudo!, Si Se Podra! Gracias!”

The induction and award ceremony will be held on September 18th at 7:30 pm at the Casino Del Sol Amphitheater in Tucson, AZ. For further information, please contact Connie Martinez at (520) 591-5600

PathStone is recognized for exceptional advocacy and leadership efforts on behalf of anti-poverty and community development programs. PathStone’s advocacy efforts directly impact policy, regulation, and legislative agendas that complement Community Action Association of Pennsylvania’s mission and goals.

This year alone PathStone advocated on behalf of migrant and seasonal farmworkers, and ex-offender training programs at the federal level. Migrant Head Start and Regional Head Start Programs also at the federal level, TANF and CSBG funding at the state level and low income housing within local communities in Chester and Lehigh County.

PathStone Training and Employment staff worked diligently at the national level with the Association for Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) and the National Association for Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) to assure training programs allow for the upward mobility of the unemployed, underemployed and dislocated workers. Our very own, Nita D’Agostino sits on the Board of Directors for the AFOP and has played a vital role in the success of PathStone Pennsylvania and was recently featured in the NAWDP Advantage Publication!

“A nation can neither achieve nor sustain prosperity on the backs of its children. In the global economy, the exploitation of children must not be tolerated under any circumstances or for any reason. When children are exploited for the economic gains of others, everybody loses–the children lose, their families lose, their country loses, the world loses. When even one child is exploited, every one of us is diminished.” – Former U.S. Senator Tom Harkin

In recognition of National Farmworker Awareness Week, the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) would like to raise awareness about the scourge of child labor in U.S. agriculture.

Around the world, agriculture remains the most important sector where 98 million, or 59%, of child laborers (ages 5-17) work, as well as the most dangerous occupation with a fatality rate of 80% for children under 15. In the United States, there are approximately 2.5 million employed farmworkers, and about half a million are under 18 years of age. The majority of child farm workers are unpaid members of migrant and seasonal farmworker (MSFW) families accompanying their parents in the fields to increase earnings.

MSFW and their children suffer greater rates of fatality, mortality and morbidity than most of the American populace due to a combination of poverty, hazardous working conditions, limited health care access, and slack labor regulations. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that an estimated 33,000 children have farm-related injuries each year in the U.S., and more than 100 of these children die as a result of their injuries. The leading causes of fatal injuries to youth were the result of children being directly involved in farm work.

Moreover, MSFW youth are continually put at a disadvantage, and are seldom able to access educational and extracurricular opportunities more easily obtained by other children. These children often become entrapped in a cycle of poverty.

Although incredible headway has been made over the last few decades in publicizing the plight of America’s ‘hidden workers’ and advocating for greater corporate social responsibility and fairer labor standards, our regulatory system has still failed to protect MSFW youth. There needs to be greater commitment to closing loopholes in U.S. labor law, and facilitating the extension of child labor protections to U.S. agriculture.

During this year’s National Farmworker Awareness Week, we again draw the public’s attention to an antiquated loophole in our own food system –the agricultural exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938. The FSLA loophole still permits children as young as 12 to work unlimited hours on a farm outside of school, and children at least 16 years of age to perform hazardous work restricted to adults in other industries. Regardless of the age, the work jeopardizes the physical, mental, and social development of child farm workers, and continually exposes them to pitiable conditions that would be deemed undignified and unlawful in any other U.S. industry or country (as most countries have adopted ILO-based legislation that prohibits or places severe restrictions on child labor).

AFOP reiterates our commitment to eliminating the legal discrimination that permits the present situation by closing the FSLA loophole that allows children to be employed in agriculture at the expense of already being disadvantaged. We envision a future in which MSFW youth have enhanced educational opportunities, adequate housing and bathrooms, potable drinking water, improved health care access, and are able to fully participate in the “American Dream.”

On a positive note, AFOP would like to applaud the recent success of the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), of which we are a long-standing member, in helping close a draconian loophole in the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, which allowed the import of goods and commodities produced by forced adult and child labor into the country when domestic production trailed demand. According to the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), approximately 21 million people around the world are victims of forced labor, and around 168 million are child laborers – 85 million engaged in hazardous work.

In February, President Obama signed the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act” (Public Law 114-125) into law, pressuring both U.S.-based companies and global supply networks to take greater responsibility in monitoring their supply chains and ensuring that labor practices do not violate the principles of decent work or the rights of a child (which the United States has yet to ratify). The law will target 136 goods from 74 countries based on recommendations from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The closure of the loophole, after 86 years, indicates the U.S. Government’s reconfirmed interest in curtailing American involvement in questionable labor practices, and should have significant implications for effectuating greater compliance with ethical standards. Unfortunately, the legislation fails to acknowledge the existence of unfair and exploitative labor practices on American soil, and may do little to protect the hidden workers and children who harvest the fruits and vegetables that end up on our plates every day.

There has been an increased urgency in the United States and international community to combat the worst forms of agricultural labor around the world, but where is acknowledgement of and uproar over the shameful working conditions thousands of MSFW endure in our own country? How much longer until they also have federal social protections?

In recognition of National Farmworker Awareness Week and in honor of the birthday of the great farmworker and civil rights advocate, the late Cesar Chavez, the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs is reposting a New American Media commentary by Elva Yañez. Her very personal remembrance of Chavez and the everlasting impact his work on laborers everywhere is well worth the read. To the Chavez family and all those who struggle to carry on his mission of justice, AFOP says, “Happy Birthday,” and thank you for all you do for farmworkers.

I was fortunate to be a child of the civil rights era. I learned from and was shaped by the world around me. When I was five years old, my sisters, mother and I walked to the Golden Gate Theater on Whittier Blvd in East Los Angeles for a Saturday matinee. The theater was far but our steps were light; I was especially excited because the Golden Gate was a beautiful and elaborate movie palace from the 1920’s with a second floor balcony. Just as we reached the theater, my mother stopped near the ticket booth and told us we had to go home. There was a picket line of striking workers in front of the theater that she refused to cross. My disappointment was overwhelming as we climbed on the bus to head home but I learned a deep and long-lasting lesson from that experience—always honor a picket line.

I think about that incident and its lessons a lot as we approach the holiday honoring the legacy of Cesar Chavez.

My mother Angelina was the first of her family born in the U.S. My family, like many, had come to Los Angeles during the tumultuous Mexican revolution. She became a garment worker as a teenager during the Great Depression and witnessed a good deal of labor unrest. Later on, she became a great admirer of Cesar Chavez. Angelina respected him for his humility, his courage in acting on his moral convictions, and for embodying the values of justice, equality, and fairness. Co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union with Dolores Huerta, Cesar organized Mexican and Filipino farmworkers who labored under brutal conditions. Their struggles for fair contracts with growers won workplace protections, higher wages, and collective bargaining rights in a sector that much of organized labor thought was unwinnable. Chavez’ leadership helped transform the social justice landscape in the U.S. and around the world.

Cesar insisted that social justice transcended individual campaigns about labor law and fights over union contracts. He believed in the importance of empowering workers to fight for and claim their rights. The movement’s triumphs – led by Chavez and so many that followed in his footsteps – conveyed a powerful message that David could actually defeat Goliath. Workers with virtually no support and even less political power could defeat some of the nation’s most powerful industries by building strong grassroots movements, inspiring leadership among those most impacted by injustice, and waging strategic campaigns.

Like many children, I was heavily influenced by my mother, and her love and appreciation for Cesar became deeply ingrained in me. One of my first volunteer experiences was for the UFW union as a high school student. After school I rode my bike to the union’s headquarters, also on Whittier Blvd. in East L.A., where I typed, filed, and listened to the stories of Joe Serda, who traveled the country as an organizer for the grape boycott. In college, I continued to volunteer for UFW fundraising events and leafleted in front of stores that sold boycotted products.

These experiences shaped my career working with groups waging social justice campaigns, including community-driven policy initiatives. To this day, I still regularly consult a pocket-sized booklet called “Axioms for Organizers,” which was compiled by Cesar’s mentor, Fred Ross, Sr. “Axioms” is a collection of organizing wisdom— distilled to its essence— that builds upon generations of experience. It has served as both a reference point and a touchstone for my work on tobacco and alcohol policy, land use, urban park issues, and health equity. Many organizations, such as Prevention Institute, embody Chavez’s work for social change. By looking at the root causes across systems to address injustices, and working to change local conditions, we know that communities can become empowered to ensure safe and healthy lives for their children and families.

The story of Cesar’s influence on my life is not a unique one. His legacy as one of the greatest “activist incubators” of our times is well deserved, as he helped transform so many of the young activists that worked with and for him into veteran organizers and longtime strategic visionaries fighting for equality and justice. As a woman, Dolores Huerta has also been a source of inspiration for me; now in her mid-80s she is still fighting racism, discrimination, and other injustices. Early in her career, she left teaching, unable to tolerate seeing the hungry children of migrant workers— and dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of women, immigrants, and people of color.

The lessons from Cesar’s life and the farm worker movement translated for me into a career focused on improving the community conditions that influence health and wellbeing. As Director of Health Equity at Prevention Institute, I am able to act upon shared values of health equity and social justice while upholding a commitment to authentic engagement, rigorous policy development, and public health approaches.

This March 31st, we will proudly celebrate the legacy of Cesar on the holiday named for him, as I do every year. While we honor and celebrate his accomplishments and influence, we will also reflect on the work that remains. Ongoing exposure to racism, discrimination, and lack of opportunity continue to exert a toll on the quality of life of millions of Americans. The fight for social justice and equity rages on: we see it in the streets of Baltimore, Ferguson, and Flint; among California farm workers still exposed to pesticides and working in dangerous conditions; and in present day justice movements— including Black Lives Matter, Latino “Dreamers”, Muslim immigrants, and LGBT activists— that demand equal treatment and opportunity under the law.

Honoring Cesar’s legacy links us to both historic and contemporary struggles for justice and democracy, and emphasizes the fundamental importance of grassroots organizing in waging effective movements for change. Cesar Chavez Day reminds us of the importance of having humility, respect, and courage as we work to eliminate inequities and expand fairness and justice in our communities. ¡Si se puede!

Many farmworkers cherish the role they play in bringing fresh food to tables in homes across the country. It’s not surprising that many of the farmworkers who qualify for National Farmworker Jobs Programs (NFJP) across the country, choose to pursue careers in the agricultural sector. Through NFJP training programs across the country, farmworkers can gain the skills they need to work year-round in the industry that they love. AFOP member and NFJP Grantee MET, Inc. has helped many farmworkers take the next step in their agricultural careers with their Farm Labor Upgrade Program. People like Carmen Julia De La Garza, were able to receive skills training including computer application, CPR/First Aid, and OSHA Safety Training, as well as specialized agricultural skills training in farm contracting and tractor & forklift operation (including a Forklift License), which made her a valuable asset to her employer, who ultimately hired her full-time as their first female forklift operator.